Amauropsis islandica

Amauropsis islandica
Shell of Amauropsis islandica (specimen at the Natural History Museum, Rotterdam)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Naticidae
Genus:	Amauropsis
Species:	A. islandica
Binomial name
Amauropsis islandica (Gmelin, 1791)
Synonyms [1]
Acrybia (Amauropsis) islandica(Gmelin, 1791) superseded combination Amauropsis cornea(Möller, 1842) junior subjective synonym Amauropsis islandicus(Gmelin, 1791) Amauropsis purpureaDall, 1871 Bulbus (Amauropsis) islandicus(Gmelin, 1791) superseded combination Choristes elegansCarpenter, 1872 Mamma (Lunatia) islandica(Gmelin, 1791) superseded combination Natica (Amauropsis) islandica(Gmelin, 1791) superseded combination Natica canaliculataA. Gould, 1840 (Invalid: junior primary homonym of Natica canaliculataDeshayes, 1832; Natica gouldiiC. B. Adams, 1847 is a replacement name Natica corneaMøller, 1842 Natica exulansA. Gould, 1841 (junior subjective synonym) Natica gouldiiC. B. Adams, 1847 (Invalid: junior primary homonym of Natica gouldiiPhilippi, 1845 Natica helicoidesJohnston, 1835 Natica islandica(Gmelin, 1791) superseded combination Natica purpurea(Dall, 1871) (dubious synonym) Nerita islandicaGmelin, 1791 (original combination)

Amauropsis islandica, common name the Iceland moonsnail, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Naticidae, the moon snails. ^[1]

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 40 mm. ^[2]

(Description of Amauropsis purpurea) The shell is elongate-globose, coated with a yellowish epidermis, and exhibits a purple-brown hue that weathers to a purplish-white tone. It comprises four inflated, globose whorls with a deeply canaliculated suture.

The aperture exceeds half the length of the shell and is ovate in shape. The outer lip is thin, while the columella is white, thickened, and smoothly rounded. A thin callus lines the inner lip. The umbilicus is either closed or reduced to a mere chink. The spire is very short and bluntly rounded.

The shell’s surface features numerous closely spaced, fine revolving grooves interspersed with a few faint ridges, adding a subtle texture to its otherwise smooth appearance. ^[3]

Distribution

This marine species occurs off Greenland, Canada (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia), United States (Maine, Massachusetts, Alaska), and on the Georges Bank.

Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 9 m. ^[2] Maximum recorded depth is 240 m. ^[2]

References

1. Amauropsis islandica (Gmelin, 1791) . 9 January 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
2. Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0008776 .
3. Dall, W.H. (1871). "Descriptions of sixty new forms of mollusks and brachiopods of the southeastern coast of North America and the North Pacific Ocean, with notes on others already described". American Journal of Conchology. 7 (2): 124. Retrieved 9 January 2025.

• Brunel, P., L. Bosse & G. Lamarche. (1998). "Catalogue of the marine invertebrates of the estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence". Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 126: 1–405.

External links

• Gmelin, J.F. (1791). Vermes. In: Gmelin J.F. (Ed.) Caroli a Linnaei Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Ed. 13. Tome 1(6). Vol. Tom. 1 Pars. 6. Lipsiae (Leipzig): G.E. Beer. p. 3675. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
• Johnston, G. (1835). "Description of Natica helicoides, a new British Shell". Berwickshire Naturalists ' Club Proceedings. 69.
• Dawson, J.W. (1872). "The post-Pliocene geology of Canada. Sub-kingdom Mollusca". The Canadian Naturalist and Quarterly Journal of Science. 6 (4): 392.
• Möller, H.P.C. (1842). "Index Molluscorum Groenlandiae". Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift. 4: 80.
• Adams, C.B. (1847). Catalogue of the genera and species of recent shells in the collection of C.B. Adams. Middlebury, Vermont.: Justus Cobb. p. 21.
• Gould, A.A. (1840). "Descriptions of thirteen new species of shells". American Journal of Science and Arts. 1 (38): 197.
• Gould, A.A. (1841). Report on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts, Comprising the Mollusca, Crustacea, Annelida, and Radiata. Published Agreeably to an Order of the Legislature, by the Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. Folsom, Wells, and Thurston, Cambridge.
• Kantor Yu.I. & Sysoev A.V. (2006). Marine and brackish water Gastropoda of Russia and adjacent countries: an illustrated catalogue. Moscow: KMK Scientific Press. p. 63.
• Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). "Mollusca". In Costello, M.J.; et al. (eds.). European Register of Marine Species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification (PDF). Vol. 50.
• Golikov, A. N.; Kussakin, O. G. (1978). Shell-bearing gastropods of the intertidal zone of the seas of the USSR. (in Russian). Zoologicheskim Institutom AN SSSR. p. 116.